10
PRESTO
Presto
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY.
Published Every Saturday at 417 South Dearborn
Street, Chicago, Illinois.
C. A. DANIELL and FRANK D. ABBOTT
Editors
Telephones, Local and Long Distance, Harrison 234
Private Phones to all Departments. Cable Address (Com-
mercial Cable Co.'s Code), "PRESTO," Chicago.
Entered as second-class matter Jan. 29, 1896, at the
I'ost Office. Chicago. Illinois, under Act of March 3, 1879.
Subscription, $2 a year; 6 months, $1; Foreign. f4.
Payable in advance (. No extra charge in United States
possessions. Cuba and Mexico, Rates for advertising: on
application.
Items of news and other matter are solicited and if
of general interest to the music trade will be paid for
at space rates. Usually piano merchants or salesmen
in the smaller cities are the best occasional corre-
spondents, and their assistance is invited.
Forms close at noon every Thursday. News mat-
ter should be in not later than eleven o'clock on the
same day. Advertising copy should be in hand before
Tuesday, five p. m., to insure preferred position. Full
page display copy should be in hand by Monday noon
preced : ng publication day. Want advs. for current
week, to insure classification, must not be later than
Wednesday noon.
Address all communications for the editorial or business
departments to PRESTO PUBLISHING CO., 417 South
Dearborn Street, Chicago, III.
SATURDAY. JANUARY 10. 1925.
THE HIDDEN NAME VERSES
It "a little nonsense now and then is relished
by the wisest men," then it is certain that
piano men like it, at long intervals. That's
why a successful feature of Presto Year Book-
Issue of last Spring- is repeated in modified
form in this number. And this time it is so
different as to set a lot more of the puzzle
workers going. • The idea this time is to find
the names of pianos, one of which is concealed
in each of the verses. Some of them are verv
easy, and others rather difficult, for even the
most expert in the trade. But every name is
one that is familiar to readers of Presto, and
most of the names are of pianos to be found
in prominent stores throughout the country.
The purpose of the little feature is pri-
marily to afford the kind of entertainment
that belongs to a trade publication in which
the variety is not gained at sacrifice of the
aims of the paper. Then. too. it is a fact that
no music trade paper can be worthy of its
name that fails to keep everlastingly in mind
the welfare of its friends, and in giving em-
phasis to the proper names of the pianos by
which the United States has made its place
as the maker of .the most perfect and desirable
musical instruments the world can produce.
In that way the interests of this industry
and the passing eagerness of the keen piano
men may 1 oth be stimulated at a time when
relaxation gives rest to mind and zest to am-
bition. It's not foolish to occasionally indulge
in the order of effort that is suggested by the
cross-word puzzle. In all ages the wisest of
men have indulged in that kind of play and the
piano "game" as presented this week taxes all
of the ingenuity of an experienced piano man
To sell pianos, no less than to make them,
demands the exercise of the best we have in
stock of brains and persistent plugging. And
if there is any asset that counts for perma-
nency and profit, it is the good name of a great
instrument. You will find a lot of that kind
of names in the little verses that are scattered
through almost, if not quite, every page of
January 10, 1925.
feature referred to. And there is a good
showing, though not half of what it might
have been had the manufacturers, in a larger
number of cases, realized its force and possi-
bilities. But, inasmuch as the invitation was
general, and almost all of the industries were
asked to supply photographs of their Grands,
Presto feels that it has done what it could in
this particular effort.
The feature of Grand illustrations is so
printed
that it may be taken from the paper
THE FLIVVER CITY
intact,
as
it will be, in hundreds of instances.
Detroit, the Dynamic City, runs smoothly ;
it seems almost unconscious of its own tre- And it would be impossible to find another
mendous power.
Everybody's unconscious such an array of beautiful Grand pianos the
motto there is, "Whatever thy hand findeth whole world over. And to possibly still fur-
to do, do it with all thy might." And we might ther add to the interest, as a trade paper fea-
ture, we would be glad to have salesmen give
add the old rhyme:
us, by mail, their opinions as to which of the
"My inheritance how wide and fair!
Grand pianos seems most attractive in de-
Time is my fair seed-field, of Time I'm heir."
sign and detail of finish so far as printer's ink
Detroit's biggest men are high ministering
can make such judgment possible. Name your
servants at Truth's altar; they dwell apart
choice, and tell why.
from the tumult of men and do their thinking
alone. When they emerge they are not men
of temper fierce and grim. Their silence has
BEAUTIFUL GRANDS
given them some help toward further re-
You can't judge a piano's tone by its pic-
searches of their own; some mental fitness to
struggle with governing conditions in markets ture. But you can judge the tone of the pic-
tured piano by the name it bears. That's why
far away.
Somewhat strangely Detroit has figured Presto makes something of a feature of the
less largely in musical matters of late than in illustrations of Grand pianos in this issue.
years long past. It is, so far as concerns the
It is only fair to both our friends and this
industry and trade of music, because the mo- paper to say that every one of the manufac-
tor car settled there and Mr. Ford created his turers were invited to contribute to the por-
gigantic flivver industry, drawing the world's trait gallery of Grands. Not a large propor-
attention and, in that degree, diverting both tion of them responded. Perhaps because
capital and interest, of the head kind, into there is no charge for having a share in the
newer channels.
profitable publicity.
In this issue of Presto Mr. Henry McMull-
The illustrations are presented for the gen-
an, one of the foremost writers on the indus- eral good of the trade. Dealers and salesmen
trial affairs of music, and for a quarter cen- find them of considerable help in doing busi-
tury associated with this paper, presents a ness. The opportunities of contrast and wide
full review of Detroit's place in the world of attention to the handsome designs are too
affairs, and a fine analysis of the city's heart obvious to require mention. Next year, if
and spirit. It is the first complete review of
Presto puts forth a real Year Book Issue,
the Motor City that has appeared with spe- care will be taken to emphasize the purpose,
cial reference to the things of music.
of the piano styles feature, so that more of
the handsome designs may appear. But there
are enough even this time to prove both in-
AMERICAN GRANDS
teresting and helpful.
Years ago Presto introduced as an annual
feature a department of the paper called "Suc-
cessful Styles of the Year." It instantly
PROVERBS IN ADVERTISING
caught the attention of the dealers every-
One of the bright young literary men of
where. A large New York piano industry se-
New
York, who has produced a good book or
cured several copies of the issue containing
two,
has
relinquished his fiction ambitions in
the feature, and placed them in the hands of
favor
of
fact
as expressed in the advertising
their factory experts and case designers for
columns.
He
said that he likes the display
purposes of comparison and attention to such
lines
best,
and
that he believed that often the
details of minor nature as in any way seemed
very
best
writing
is done in the interest of
to offer special advantages to rival manufac-
industry
and
trade.
turers.
The suggestion of the New York writer
The feature was devoted principally to up-
right cases and, in some of the issues of the has been adopted for a feature—and a good
paper, there were several hundreds of styles, one—in this issue of Presto. It appears un-
many of them presenting original ideas, and der the head of "Proverbs Found in the Advs."
some of them so. grotesque in their strivings And most of the snappy paragraphs will prove
for decorative effects as to be grotesque. No of special interest to music men in whatever
one, whether in factory or store, denied that department of the business.
the feature was a good one, even one of use-
Wisdom in epigram is always incisive. Bet-
fulness. Salesmen used the paper in closing ter than a sermon is the line of a thinker who
sales" by means of contrast, believing that their has the gift of expression. And nowhere will
own pianos presented some exclusive char- you find gems of literature concealed in de-
acteristics of great beauty. But as the up- scriptive matter more sparkling, when exam-
rights become stabilized, or in a measure ined alone, than in some of the paragraphs
"standardized," the variations grew fewer and designed to promote some prosaic, even com-
today it is the Grand piano that holds the monplace, article of commerce. Whether the
greater share of special interest.
ad-writers always realize that they are saying
Consequently this issue of Presto contains things brighter, often, than their subjects, no
only Grand piano illustrations in the special one knows. And usually the subjects upon
this issue of Presto, though some of the best
of them have proved too much for the verbal
agility of our rhymster. And there is a re-
ward—in a sense a large one—ready for the
name finders. For to all who send in a com-
plete list of the names prizes will be for-
warded of a kind to prove useful the whole
year through. A complete list of the names
will be printed in Presto of January 17.
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